A review of learning technology, tools, and trends from a not-so-cutting-edge practitioner.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Gradually Going Virtual

This week I joined my team in delivering training to a veteran group of managers in my company. It is always a challenge when you have to conduct management training for an experienced audience. Clearly, this was a successful group with very few skill deficiencies for the jobs they are doing. But despite their experience and previous success, it is important that they keep their skills aligned with the current and future direction of the company.

Without a doubt, things have been rapidly changing at my company. Our managers need to make sure they are adapting their management tactics to keep up with the changes in our operating approaches. Their failure to do so could put us at a competitive disadvantage. One growing phenomenon in our work place is the increase in remote management situations. While this is not new at our company, it is happening on an increasingly larger scale than in the past. More managers have remote staff members, while some (including myself) have completely virtual teams.

Needless to say, managing remote teams was an important topic in this week's training program. We reiterated the importance of using traditional leadership skills to help teams successfully meet their business goals. In addition to that, we discussed new skill requirements that are specific to managing virtual teams. Two key topic areas were approaches to building trust and maintainingstrong communication while managing people at remote locations. Below are items that were explored during these topic discussions.

Building Trust with a Virtual Team

Conduct Face-to-face Meetings - If possible, it is recommended that virtual teams have at least one in-person meeting so that people can put names and faces together. Studies show that meeting in-person helps teams overcome communication and trust barriers during those times when they must meet virtually.

Maintain Transparency - Team members should always be aware of department goals and priorities and how well they are performing against those goals. Additionally, managers must make it a habit to continually inform remote team members about issues that impact their work.

Be Accessible - Remote team members must feel they have access to their manager (and other team members). Managers must take extra care to make sure they are being responsive to remote team members. While team members who are co-located with their manager will see the things that my be preoccupying the boss, remote team members could interpret silence as disinterest, which might make them hesitate to reach out to the manager when they should be doing so.

Share Team Member Profiles - The more team members know about each other, the easier it will be for them to be open and candid during remote communication. Sharing photos, interests and areas of expertise will go a long way towards bringing team members closer together.

Communicating with a Virtual Team

Establish Communication Routines - Make it a point to get to know when each team member is most easily accessible by phone, email or other means. Set up specific days and times for one-on-one and team meetings.

Share Good and Bad News - Provide status updates to remote team members on a regular basis whether the news is good or bad. While managers may be tempted to reach out to remote workers only when the news is good, remaining silent when it is bad leaves things open to interpretation which can create tension and misinformation.

Take Advantage of Available Technology - There are great tools available for conducting virtual meetings, engaging in instant communication, file sharing, and capturing group input. Many of these tools are intuitive and can be used with little or no training. Others do require investing some time to learn how to use them. But the payoff for this investment is usually well worth it.

In addition to discussing these topics, our training included demonstrations of some of the technology tools available in my company that are helpful for remote management. We also gave managers the opportunity to sign up for one-on-one or small group coaching sessions to help them get the most out of these available tools.

Learning Strategist

In my 20+ year career, I have have held positions as a stand-up trainer, e-learning course developer, instructional designer, management development specialist and training director. I currently lead a global learning shared services team.
Like many workplace learning professionals, I'm constantly bombarded by vendors and the media with suggestions on the latest trends and technology tools for learning. I try some things out, but not everything is a fit for my company's needs or budget. This blog helps me reflect on and sort out these experiences. It is my hope that some of these reflections can be helpful to other workplace learning professionals.